Part III Concluding Reflections, 22 Assessment of Strengths and Weaknesses

Subject(s):

Climate change — Treaties, amendments and modification — Treaties, application

This chapter assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the Paris Agreement. It first discusses the regulatory approaches used in maintaining global cooperation, comparing and contrasting both the Kyoto Approach and the Paris Outcome. The chapter then offers a bird's eye view of the key elements of the Paris Agreement. In particular, it focuses on these key elements as context for the overall assessment of the Paris Outcome. Next, the chapter examines the Paris Outcome in the context of what it aims to do, to motivate state action beyond no regrets action toward an agreed long-term goal through a hybrid, managerial rather than a top-down approach based on an assumption that Parties will act prominently out of self-interest and to spur climate action more broadly. Finally, the chapter concludes with further insights and recommendations for future action.